Improved steel-bladed oar



NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

W. H. MCMILLAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVED STEEL-BLADED OAR.

To all wwnt it may concern.'

Be it known that I, W. H. MCMILLAN, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Oars; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andexact description of the same, reference being had to the accom pauyin g drawings, forming part of this speeilica-tiou, in which- Figure 1 represents a front elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Similar letters of reference in both views indicate corresponding parts.

This invention consists in an oar having a metallic blade attached to a wooden handle either by rivets, clasps, sockets, or in any otherdesirable manner, so that a strong and durable blade is obtained which is not liable to split or crack, and, furthermore, the manufacture ofthe oar is cheapened and simplitied.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention,- I will proceed to describe it.

A represents the handle of my oar, which is made of. wood in the usual form and shape. The outer end of this handle is split open and provided with a kerf to receive the blade B. This blade is stamped or cut out of sheetiron, steel, copper, or any other suitable metal, in the proper form and secured in the kerf by means ot' rivets a, and, together with these rivets, clasps might be employed to embrace that portion ofthe handle extending over the blade and prevent it from splitting, or the blade might be made with a suitable socket to receive the end of the handle, which in this asc would require no splitting and would be said oars are rendered much more durablel than oars of the ordinary construction with Wooden blades. Such wooden blades are liable to split or break whenever they come in contact with any hard substance tloating in the water, or when they strike the ground or some object and the oar loses its eifeet and must be replaced by a new one. The woodei blade cannot be repaired if once broken, the whole oar is useless. My metallic blades are not liable to these diiculties. When they strike some hard substance, they may bend, but they would not break, and they can be readily straightened out in case they should bend; but if it should happen that from some cause the blade should be irreparably injured, it can easily be removed and replaced by another without throwing away the handle, and with a tritling expense the oar is as good as new.

I am aware that propellers of various forms have before been made with metallic blades applied to wooden shafts 3 but What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

As a new article of manufacture, the oar herein described, consisting of a wooden handle, A, and metal blade B,when the said parts are constructed and combined as and for the purpose herein specified.

W. H. MoMllLLAN.

Witnesses:

M. M. LIVINGSTON, J. W. CooMBs. 

